How Not To Annoy Your Photographer

How Not To Annoy Your Photographer

This week we’re looking at how not to annoy your photographer. With around 5% or more of your wedding budget going on photography you want to make sure it’s good. This means keeping your photographer happy and on board.

How not to annoy your photographer: Guest mobile phones/cameras/tablets

We looked in a previous post about social media & mobile phones at weddings. A major pet hate of professional togs is the wedding guest who gets in the way. From your point of view it’s not cool to be spending a good chunk of money on professional photography only to have Auntie Sheila’s mobile phone slap bang in the middle of the pic of you taking your vows!

Personally I think that mobile phones should be switched off in church/during ceremony. Your wedding ceremony is far more important than anything else at that time. Just for half an hour or an hour. I know we’re all superglued to our mobiles these days but it IS possible to be disconnected for a short while and survive. A polite note at the beginning of the Order of Service/Ceremony reminding guests to switch off is not unreasonable. Maybe ask the vicar/registrar to request guests to switch off at the beginning of the service/ceremony. They could mention in a jokey way that you have a professional tog on hand and not to hinder him/her.

How not to annoy your photographer: Guest Wrangler

The original wrangler was a cowboy who rounded up the cattle. These days on the red carpet for the Oscars and the after parties TV interviewers have a celebrity wrangler. The wrangler will round up the celebs that the interviewer wants to interview on their way in. If you want not to annnoy your photographer, appoint someone in your wedding party to be your guest wrangler. Their job is to round up the relevant people for each shot. Having the Best Man MIA at the wrong time will hold photos up and annoy your tog. The wrangler will be in charge of getting everyone needed for the next photo as one is being taken. He or she will therefore require a list of the shots you’re having taken and the participants names. Your photos can be pretty time consuming. As well as helping your tog, having a wrangler will speed things up considerably which means your guests won’t be hanging around for quite so long.

How not to annoy your photographer: Guests photobombing

Either your wrangler or someone else needs to be in charge of making sure that guests don’t photobomb. Intentionally or otherwise. People can be very unaware of what’s going on around them and may wander into shot by accident.

How not to annoy your photographer: Timings

How not to annoy your photographer on your engagement shoot If you’re having an engagement shoot or trial shoot turn up on time! Firstly it’s disrespectful to be late, it shows that you don’t value the person you’re meeting. If you get held up in an unavoidable traffic problem then phone to let them know. Secondly your tog will have taken the light into consideration when planning if you’re having an outdoor shoot. Being late will throw all his/her timings off and you won’t get the photos you want.

How not to annoy your photographer at your wedding Allow enough time for all the shots you want. If you want the best professional photos then give your tog the best chance possible! Also, don’t faff around and make a good shot bad.

How not to annoy your photographer: Pinterest/unique ideas

Perfectly timed once in a lifetime shots cannot necessarily be staged or recreated. Yes you’ve seen some amazing photos on Pinterest or Instagram but they are someone else’s once in a lifetime shots. Be unique, be creative. By all means get ideas but adapt them to your own situation. Trust your tog. If he/she says it can’t be done or isn’t a good idea there’s probably a good reason. Also accept advice on what WILL make a good or unique shot.

How not to annoy your photographer: Raw shots

Don’t ask your tog for all the raw, unedited shots. Not all the photos will be good enough to use which is why they don’t make the cut. There will be a lot of duplicates taken of shots to ensure that there is a good one to use. Trust your tog to edit the best. Having his/her unedited work published anywhere with his/her name on it will devalue the work. It’s their reputation on the line, so allow them to present the best to you.

Annoying style trends on their way out

Colour pop photos. Black and white photos with a pop of colour on them.

Another style trend on the way out is the deliberately crooked photo. Sometimes a different angle can be artistic and adds interest, as in this photo of a white dove.

But the photo of the couple at an angle just makes me feel seasick!

And finally: NEVER, never ever say to your tog “Your photos are great – you must have a great camera!” Give credit where credit’s due. A bad photographer will take a bad photo, no matter how good or expensive the camera is. The skill lies entirely with the photographer. Say you’re a great cook and produce fabulous meals at the drop of a hat. If someone said to you “oh, you must have a great oven” you’d be, justifiably, pretty miffed. You were the one who combined the ingredients and had the knowledge and expertise to produce the great meal, not the oven! Your tog is the same with the photos. You are paying for his or her knowledge, expertise and experience.